Aid Distribution in Kenya through M-PESA

The violence in Kenya a while back over disputed elections has provided the opportunity to recruit technology in form the innovative M-PESA system, to distribute emergency aid to many of the victims.

Reserve Bank of India forces PayPal to place more restrictions on Indian merchants

The Reserve Bank of India has set new rules on online payments which in turn has forced payments processor PayPal to impose more restrictions on their services in the country.

PayPal’s official blog staes the RBI is enforcing new rules "governing the processing and settlement of export-related receipts facilitated by online payment gateways".

From 1st March eBay merchants in India won’t be able to receive payments from abroad in excess of $500 per transaction. They will no longer be able to use any balance in their PayPal accounts to buy goods or services. Instead all payments must be first transferred into an Indian bank account.

PayPal has already being forced to suspend personal payments to and from India after falling foul of RBI licensing rules last year.

National Australia Bank's online banking in trouble again

National Australia Bank's customers have been unable to access their accounts while telephone banking services was also briefly affected earlier this week.

A bank spokesman told “The Australian” newspaper that the outage was caused by a glitch with its secure log-in system and there were no security risks.

In an attempt to placate unhappy customers NAB took to Twitter urging them to use the telephone service.

The bank spent much of last December suffering from payment processing problems attributed to a "corrupted file in the processing batch" leading to thousands of complaints.

Remittances to Zimbabwe – on the rise

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said that remittances from Zimbabweans living abroad increased 32.9% in 2010 to about US$263.3 million.

Figures released by the central bank showed that remittances had increased significantly from the US$198.2 million recorded in 2009.

“The growth rates primarily reflected the market’s confidence in the formal channel of remitting free funds,” the central bank said in a recent economic update.

“In the outlook, the sector is poised to grow in 2011 due to the broadening of the Bureau De Change operating framework.”

Millions of Zimbabweans now live in neighbouring Botswana and South Africa while others have settled in Europe and the United States. Most left the country over the last decade to escape a biting economic crisis characterized by the country’s world record inflation and high unemployment.

The vast majority Zimbabwean expatriates send money back home to support their families.

Crisis of Capitalism

In this short RSA Animate, radical sociologist David Harvey asks if it is time to look beyond capitalism, towards a new social order that would allow us to live within a system that could be responsible, just and humane.

Reducing Risk in Over-the-Counter Derivatives

International supervisory authorities and major market participants met this week at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to discuss ongoing efforts and future priorities for improving infrastructure and reducing risk in the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets. The meetings between the OTC Derivatives Supervisors Group (ODSG) and major market participants have served as a venue for open dialogue and collective action to effect practical improvements in these global markets.

"As market participants begin operating in a more regulated environment, supervisors of major market participants must continue to work cooperatively and proactively to drive structural improvements, monitor emerging risks, and support consistent supervisory approaches across jurisdictions. The ODSG will continue to play a key role in meeting these objectives," said William C. Dudley, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Market participants provided supervisors with updates on recent work and agreed to commit to further improvements in support of G-20 objectives for reducing risks in global OTC derivatives markets. Participants agreed to communicate next steps and commitments in a collective letter to the ODSG by March 31, 2011, in accordance with the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in its October 2010 report entitled "Implementing OTC Derivatives Market Reforms."

Industry commitments to the ODSG will continue to focus on increasing standardization and transparency, as well as the further development and innovation of central clearing facilities to reduce counterparty credit risk among a broader set of participants in the OTC derivatives markets. "We must continue to advocate for solutions that will extend central clearing benefits to a broader set of participants in a safe and sound manner," said Mr. Dudley.

Mercator Advisory Group publishes new report “Debit Cardholders: Calm Before the Storm"

The Mercator Advisory Group has published the fourth in a series of eight topical consumer survey reports examining payment and banking topics. The report “Debit Cardholders: Calm Before the Storm” highlights consumers growing use of debit cards, just prior to the significant impending changes to debit pricing for consumers, issuers, and merchants.

Based on a national US sample of 1,009 online consumer survey panel survey responses focused on payment topics completed during May 2010, the report outlines consumer patterns of debit card ownership, usage, preferences for PIN versus signature transactions, awareness of overdraft reform legislation, participation in alternative and decoupled debit programs, and participation in debit card rewards programs.

Key items in the report include:

• This 2010 consumer survey documents a sort of high-water mark for consumer debit programs, as the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act begins to re-write program economics for debit issuers, and pricing changes begin to affect consumers and merchants.
• At the same time general purpose credit card ownership by households dropped, debit cards became the most widely held type of payment card.
• Cardholders are almost evenly split in their preference for PIN transactions, signature transactions, and no preference." But when requested by the merchant, a majority say they comply with a request to enter their PIN.
• Private label (decoupled) debit programs sponsored by retailers have gained just a small foothold among debit cardholders.
• Debit reward program participation is not dominant among cardholders, and a minority of participants have ever redeemed rewards.